Article April 12, 2004 Issue

God never let us down

Through prayer, a Brazilian family learns that security isn't tied to a job.

By Dieter Goebel

In Brazil , with the unemployment rate at almost 12 percent, many people feel tense and hopeless about their financial security, especially those who are middle-aged. That's because age threatens to be a limiting factor in finding a job or even keeping one.

Although I was trained as an economist, I've faced unemployment, often for long periods of time, because of job shortages and fluctuations in the economy. Once, for almost six years, I had to content myself solely with temporary jobs and sporadic work. I did short projects and analyses, but nothing permanent. This affected my self-esteem and also had a serious effect on my finances.

For me, one of the most difficult experiences happened when our country was going through political changes and a severe financial crisis in the late 1980s and early '90s. I had left my engineering job to join my wife in the business she had established. She was a psychologist at the time, and she had developed educational toys and books for children.

About the author

Dieter Goebel is currently working for the Brazilian National Agency for Ground Transportation and is responsible for studies pertaining to the regulation of heavy loads on the nation's highways.

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